fertile vs non fertile

[bernie131]

If a duck starting laying eggs on May21, 2016 and laid an egg a day for 19 days and the first 6 were not fertile (not sure, they went bad) trying to hatch them. Should I attempt to try to hatch the remaining 12 eggs? She is a pekin duck surrounded by 4 Mallards and 1 large male (I think) white goose that stay together all the time. Would it be possible that the remaining eggs have been fertilized or once she starts laying,..could they be fertilized somewhere along the process? Or chances are the remaining 12 are not fertilized?

 

[junebuggena]

Do you have a drake?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would open an egg and look for the blastodisc vs. blastoderm.

Is that your only pekin? Are any of the mallards drakes?

 

[red283672]

Can you candle them?

 

[bernie131]

4 of them (Mallards) and a female Mallard and of course the white Pekin laying the eggs.

 

[bernie131]

I candle them but just she the yolk floating around, I haven't put them in the "hatcher" because the other 7 failed

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Has she been sitting on them? If not, all you will see is yolk. You'd have to open one to check for fertilization or incubate it and see if it develops.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

4 of them (Mallards) and a female Mallard and of course the white Pekin laying the eggs.

So 4 of the Mallards are mature drakes?

Has she been sitting on them? If not, all you will see is yolk. You'd have to open one to check for fertilization or incubate it and see if it develops.

X2

I candle them but just she the yolk floating around, I haven't put them in the "hatcher" because the other 7 failed

All you will see is yolk till they are incubated. Open an egg and check for fertility. Keep opening them till you find a fertile one and then incubate the rest.

 

[bernie131]

I have taken all the eggs because if I don't, when I check the nest there are just egg shells, the critters around always gets them. See drakes are mature but a white goose protects her all the time(mostly when I am feeding them).
I have 14 eggs and all of them have the date she laid them, that is why I wonder if the first few are not fertilized then the last few that she laid will not be fertilized also? It is possible to have a fertilization happen in the middle of the egg laying?
Should I start incubating them to see what happens?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If an egg is fertile, the subsequent eggs laid would be expected to be fertile.